CNC Shark Forum

Need some advice and setting help i have 25 pcs of Aluminum to cut a 4" square out of the middle. i want to use a .0625 diamond bit. what setting and speed should i run? i am using the Bosch 1617...
any help would be great i have never cut Aluminum before

Let me first say that I have never used a 1/16" mill bit.

I have cut a lot of aluminum in the last 6 months and my smallest bit has been 1/8". I have also snapped a lot of those small bits - all carbide 2 or 3 flute. My router will only go down to 10,000 RPM. I run a feed rate of 5 ipm to 15 ipm to keep the bits from snapping. My stock is 3/4" x 3/4" bar stock.

Hello Larry

I have had good luck in thick aluminum with a 1/4" up-spiral 2 flute carbide bit. (Freud 75-102 1/4-Inch Double-Flute Up Spiral)
if you can live with the radius on the corners, I would suggest this over the 1/8 inch diameter.

For me, ramping the cuts is mandatory, I use a 1 to 2 inch ramp distance. 10 ipm .02 depth of each pass, dry cut. The 10 ipm is good for full width cuts through the material at .02 to .03 depth per pass.
The surface finish with the up-spiral is good, shown in picture below. The bit cost is reasonable and less than the specialty aluminum bits. (about $19.00 USD)

Attached is a picture of my modified pro cutting a router clamp for an HD machine in 6061-T6 aluminum 5/8 thick.
I am using the Freud bit, which you can see through the brush gap I made in the kent dust shoe.
(which also has led lights on the inside so you can observe the cutting process through the gap or through the top of the clear shoe.)

Hope this helps.

Bob